Quebec court rejects federal bid to dismiss case over GG’s French proficiency
The proceedings launched two years ago to have Mary Simon’s appointment as Governor General of Canada annulled deserve to be heard on their merits, Quebec Superior Court has ruled, dismissing a motion filed by Ottawa.
Lawyers for the federal government had argued that the absence of a constitutional requirement that the office of Governor General be bilingual in English and French meant the lawsuit did not deserve to be heard by the court.
Detractors of Simon’s appointment have criticized the Trudeau government for appointing a person incapable of fulfilling their functions in both official languages.
This is the second time that the Attorney General of Canada (AGC) has failed to quash the lawsuit, filed in June 2022.
The first request argued that the Superior Court didn’t have the authority to handle the case, claiming only the Federal Court did. Judge Catherine Piché rejected this claim last summer.
The second request from the Attorney General of Canada questioned whether the plaintiffs had the right to bring the case. The plaintiffs include Droits collectifs Québec, its director general Étienne-Alexis Boucher, Justice pour le Québec, and its former president Frédéric Bastien, who passed away in May 2023.
They argued that the Advisory Group’s report on selecting the Governor General and the Prime Minister’s advice were political acts with no legal effect, and thus not subject to judicial review.
Judge Dubé decided these claims did not justify ending the case, without ruling on the core issue.
In her decision on Monday, she ordered Frédéric Bastien’s name be removed from the lawsuit and asked the two organizations involved to clarify their interest in the case within 30 days.
The case can now proceed unless the Attorney General of Canada seeks to appeal Judge Dubé’s decision. The plaintiffs hope for a hearing by the end of the year.
The lawsuit challenges Mary Simon’s appointment, claiming it violates the linguistic provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms articles 16(1) et 20(1).
They say the Governor General of Canada must follow the laws and customs of Canada, which state that French and English are the official languages and that the Governor General should be able to communicate in both languages at the time of their appointment.
Inability to speak French
Mary Simon does not speak French. She is taking courses, which, as of last December, did not yet allow her to hold a conversation.
To justify their request for her removal, the plaintiffs referred to a judicial precedent in New Brunswick. In April 2022, the Court of Queen’s Bench criticized the Trudeau government for appointing a unilingual English lieutenant governor.
However, the province’s Court of Appeal sided with Ottawa last spring.
Mary Simon, 75, an Inuk, became Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General on July 26, 2021. Her appointment sparked outrage in several Francophone communities, including in Quebec, because she does not speak French.
Despite numerous complaints, Raymond Théberge, the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, determined in the fall of 2021 that Mary Simon’s appointment did not violate the Official Languages Act.
-Translation by Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Mark Indigenous languages decade by making Inuktitut official in Canada: Inuit UN rep, The Canadian Press
Finland: Everyone encouraged to boost Sami language visibility in Finland, Norway and Sweden this week, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Indigenous and minority language names for Norway now have official status, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: German project to house everything published in Siberian and Arctic languages to seek new funding, Eye on the Arctic
Sweden: Can cross-border cooperation help decolonize Sami-language education, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Inuit leaders applaud UN move to designate International Decade of Indigenous Languages, Eye on the Arctic
